Four candidates have interviewed for UH top job

Updated 8:56 pm, Monday, December 19, 2011

Houston Cougars players wait to take the field before the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Houston Cougars players wait to take the field before the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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University of Houston interim head football coach Tony Levine pauses to control his reaction to a question about the emotions of the day during media conference in the Carl Lewis Auditorium of the UH Athletics Alumni Center Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Houston. Former Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin left to become the head coach at Texas A&M.

University of Houston interim head football coach Tony Levine pauses to control his reaction to a question about the emotions of the day during media conference in the Carl Lewis Auditorium of the UH Athletics

University of Houston Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades speaks to the media about the interim head coach Tony Levine in the Carl Lewis Auditorium of the UH Athletics Alumni Center Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Houston. Former Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin left to become the head coach at Texas A&M.

University of Houston Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades speaks to the media about the interim head coach Tony Levine in the Carl Lewis Auditorium of the UH Athletics Alumni Center Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in

Houston Cougars fans react as Southern Mississippi pulls away for the win during the second half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston. Southern Mississippi won the game 49-28 for the championship.

Houston Cougars fans react as Southern Mississippi pulls away for the win during the second half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston. Southern Mississippi won the

UH fans cheer their team before the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

UH fans cheer their team before the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

Four candidates have interviewed for UH top job

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The University of Houston has interviewed at least four candidates in the search for its next football coach, people with knowledge of the situation told the Chronicle on Monday.

UH has interviewed two internal candidates, interim head coach and special teams coordinator Tony Levine and co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Jason Phillips. Oklahoma State associate head coach and special teams coordinator Joe DeForest and Boise State offensive coordinator Brent Pease also received interviews.

UH athletic director Mack Rhoades or other officials at the school are not commenting on the search, per a policy that Rhoades established prior to the search.

Levine has been with the Cougars since 2008, joining the school as part of former coach Kevin Sumlin's staff and also is UH's assistant head coach and inside receivers coach. He was named interim head coach on Dec. 10, the day Sumlin accepted the head coaching job at Texas A&M.

Under his watch, receiver and return specialist Tyron Carrier tied the NCAA record for kickoff returns for touchdowns, also held by former Clemson running back C.J. Spiller. Levine has coached at the high school, college and NFL levels, serving as an assistant special teams coach for the Carolina Panthers before joining UH in 2008.

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Phillips has spent much of his football career – playing and coaching – at UH. He has been on the coaching staff for nine seasons (2001, 2003-06 and 2008-present) and is also a former receiver for the Cougars, reaching All-American status in 1987-88 before moving on to play professionally in the NFL and CFL for nine seasons. Phillips has also coached at the NFL level, serving as an offensive intern and working with receivers at Minnesota and Atlanta.

DeForest, who also coaches safeties for the Cowboys, has been at Oklahoma State since 2001. He is considered a strong recruiter and has been known for his ability to attract Houston-area recruits to Stillwater. He began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Rice in 1990 before becoming their outside linebackers coach two years later. In 1994 he moved on to Duke to coach special teams and outside linebackers before joining Oklahoma State in 2001.

Pease is in his first season as Boise State's offensive coordinator after spending the last five seasons as the wide receivers coach and the last four as the assistant head coach. Pease is a one-time Houston Oiler, playing quarterback from 1987 to 1989. His coaching stops include Montana, Northern Arizona, Kentucky and Baylor.